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22/11/2013

An Adventure in Space and Time

Wow,
there’s enough material here for a series! Mark Gatiss’ lovingly nourished
rendering of the origins of DW presents several characters whom we would
willingly spend weeks with. The only down side of An adventure in space and
time is that it is 85 minutes long so there are shortcuts galore however Gatiss
has honed the dialogue to give every line import. By focussing on four
personalities who you would never expect could collaborate especially in the
1960s he gives the whole thing a sharp focus. The result is something very special.

It
begins with a scene that seems to (deliberately?) evoke the feel of David
Whitaker’s novelisation of the second story. A police box on a misty evening
and a car draws up. Inside though instead of Ian Chesterton we see William
Hartnell staring at the police box and we realise it’s just after he left the
show. Then- via the Tardis’ yearometer thing- we scroll back to 1963.
The initial sequences are reminiscent of the bustle of The Hour, another
fascinating programme about an earlier era of television. While Hartnell is a
familiar figure we know less of either Verity Lambert or Waris Hussein both of
whom Gatiss deftly paints as outsiders in a tweed wrapped older male dominated
BBC. Within about five seconds you can’t help but love them both. Here, Verity
Lambert is not the pushy careerist you might expect; as written and played she
is a mixture of self-doubt and practicality while Waris Hussein is initially
sceptical of the project but teamed with Lambert they soon become thick as
thieves. By dwelling on their core strengths rather than the hostility they
encountered – which he neatly wraps up in brief scenes- Gatiss draws out the
seam of creativity and innovation they mined. There’s a great scene that
captures this perfectly in which Lambert is enthusing about the
prospective title sequence. With great chemistry Jessica Raine and Sacha Dhawan
are both fantastic.

The
third key figure in the narrative is Sydney Newman played by Brian Cox with
bluster –“pop, pop, pop!” – that belies a genuinely creative mind. He seems
like the archetypal production mogul, cigar rarely out of sight peppering his conversation
with extremes. In his head things are either amazing or terrible. Yet Gatiss’
script shows how he coaxed the best out of his young protégées and how he had
an uncanny ability both to ferret great ideas out and realises when others
could better them. The scenario well known to fans where the success of the
Daleks led him to devolve much more responsibility to Lambert is played here as
quietly inspirational. You’ll probably want to cheer!
Of course the main character around which Gatiss builds his story is that of
William Hartnell. Time and circumstances mean we know comparatively little
about the man at least compared to his successors. Watching his stories out of
their context it’s easy to overlook why he became so popular. It’s also easy to
forget he was only in his mid-50s when he played the role. David Bradley has
already delivered one of the year’s best television performances as the haunted
newsagent on Broadchurch but his turn as Hartnell betters even that.
Gatiss’ problem was how to portray a man who was clearly not always likeable
but was also unhappy about the way his career had developed and yet have us
liking him and he cleverly uses Hartnell’s grand-daughter as a sounding board.
There’s a noticeable difference in the way the actor snaps tetchily at her when
out of work to the more twinkling agreeable man he becomes as he embraces the
acclaim the series brought him. Though taller, older and not that similar
vocally, David Bradley excels in each scene delivering Gatiss’ economical yet
telling dialogue perfectly. Whatever you think of him at the start, by the end
he will win you over. What TV drama does better than any other medium is evoke
small, personal tragedies and by the end Gatiss has mixed such a combination of
emotions that you will be moved by a simple wordless moment that
seems to sum up the hopes of all of the original production team and our
enduring love of the series.

The
fact that the story is so strong means a first viewing may not take in all the
beautifully re-created aspects of the series. The original Tardis for example
is reproduced perfectly and with all its flaws including problem doors! We see
costumes from `Marco Polo`, `Web Planet`,`Tenth Planet` plus Daleks on
Westminster Bridge with some familiar scenes being filmed. As the last ever
production to utilise Television Centre, director Terry McDonagh introduces
the iconic building as if it were another character finding inventive ways to
shoot it. At one point it looks like a spaceship, another time the curved
centre fills the screen like a monolith. Key inventions get a brief look in-
there’s an early running theme about designer Peter Brachaki’s reticence to
design the console room. When Verity Lambert finally corrals him Brachaki
throws together what was basically the final version which then morphs into the
actual set. The theme music’s strangeness is also referenced with a brief
glimpse of the Radiophonic Workshop complete with a scatty looking Delia
Derbyshire in the background.
For fans the production is sprinkled with all kinds of in jokes, references and
nuances that it will probably take a second or even third watch to spot but it
is lovely to see William Russell himself, still acting in his 90s, getting a
cameo as car park attendant. There are probably others I haven’t spotted yet
after seeing it only the once.

With such
a comparatively short running time to pack in three years’ worth of trials and
tribulations there are inevitably aspects sketched over. We barely see the
perspective of either William Russell or Jacqueline Hill, while post Susan companions
are represented by a photo call only. There is no time either to show the
fireworks that apparently ensued between Hartnell and Innes Lloyd. In the end
it doesn’t matter because there is more than enough to convey the impression of
the alchemy that started the show.
Fittingly for a series about the ultimate outsider, An Adventure in Space and Time, shows how four outsiders created
something very special. Just like the similar Coronation Street origins
drama of a couple of years back you don’t have to be a fan of the series to
appreciate this drama. Mark Gatiss should be congratulated for balancing
authenticity and appreciation in one un-missable bundle. Tell you what- The Day
of the Doctor is going to have to be top notch to match this!

2 comments:

That opening scene is definitely a homage to the Exciting Adventure With The Daleks - a second showing clearly shows a road-sign reading Barnes Common at the foreground of the scene...LOVED this. Day Of The Doctor has one HELL of an act to follow!

I thought it was absolutely phenomenal - really a masterpiece, with a brilliant introduction that makes it clear that this is a fictionalised account based upon real events. It made me want to watch the Hartnell stories again in sequence to follow through how Hartnell's performance developed.